The Curious Case of Brenda Leigh

by Kadi

Rated K

Disclaimer: It isn't my sandbox, but it is my favorite place to play!

A/N: Written for the #RaydorDrawerMystery #ShandySundayChallenge! This challenge was based on comments that MMcD made at DragonCon in regard to Raydor's desk drawer. Apparently the contents are a secret that she is keeping from pretty much everyone! Now the shippers are wondering what could possibly be in that drawer! This is the result. Enjoy!

For all the FlynnGirls - you know who you are! Love ya'll!

"I'll just be a minute." Deputy Chief Fritz Howard held up the file he carried with him. He came over from Special Operations to meet with Assistant Chief Taylor and had one more stop to make. That stop was the reason he had Brenda meet him at headquarters rather than down the block at the SOB. She didn't see many of the members of her former team often, if at all. Now with her taking the job in Washington, the odds of her having the opportunity to see any of them again were dropping drastically. As pleased as he was to have her away from the LAPD and a job which had created so much chaos in their lives, he understood how she felt about them. If nothing else, it would give her the opportunity to say goodbye.

If any of them were present. It was a gamble, Fritz knew, but maybe it would plant the idea in her head and she would do something to see them before she made the move back east. He had no idea what they had going on currently, case-wise. It was worth a try at the very least.

"Come on." His hand hovered against her lower back as they made the familiar walk down the hall leading from Taylor's office to the Murder Room.

Brenda rolled her eyes at him. "It has been a while, but I think I still know my way around here," she drawled. She made a face at him as they strolled the hallway. She hadn't gone in with him to see Taylor, she wasn't ready for that yet. Brenda didn't think she ever would be. Being back in this building was a little surreal. She supposed that it had to happen sooner or later. What she didn't expect was that she would feel so nervous about it, but the closer they got to the Murder Room, the more anxious she felt. Butterflies were dancing in her stomach.

The former Deputy Chief didn't know exactly what she expected to find when they stepped inside. She almost thought it would be completely different. It wasn't. Brenda stopped when they reached the Murder Room and upon entering she had to take a moment to let it all sink in. It was almost as if the last two and a half years hadn't happened at all. Everything remained as it always had, right down to the pictures and notes placed on the white board to her left. Her eyes scanned the room, and aside from the support staff, it was almost entirely deserted. Brenda drew a breath and when the hand at her back prodded her gently forward, she glanced up at her husband and smiled.

"Hey, Lieutenant," Fritz called out, gaining Provenza's attention. He was the only one present, and bent over his desk and a stack of files. "Where is everyone?"

Lieutenant Provenza swiveled in his chair the comeback on the tip of his tongue was completely forgotten when he spied the visitor with the new Deputy Chief. "Chief!" He rose, and a rare smile split his face. "You should have told us you were coming!"

She felt an answering smile curve her lips. "It was last minute. I was just meeting Fritzy. Lieutenant, it is so good to see you." Brenda found that she truly meant it, despite her mixed feelings about being back. If it were anyone else, she might have hugged them, but they both stopped just short of that. Brenda let her gaze sweep the room. "Where is everyone? I was hoping I could say hi."

He lifted his hands and shrugged. "The work never stops," Provenza said. "Julio and Mike are picking up a witness. Flynn is down seeing Doctor Morales with the Captain," he only narrowly managed to not roll his eyes when he said that. "Buzz is in electronics doing… whatever he does between interviews to make sure the equipment is working.

Fritz almost snorted a laugh at the way his nose wrinkled upon mentioning the Captain. By now he knew that it had nothing at all to do with Captain Raydor herself, but rather that she was with Lieutenant Flynn. Since joining the LAPD he'd had the opportunity to see what the Lieutenant was seeing where those two were concerned. He didn't know that anything was going on, there weren't any rumors that he had heard, but there did seem to be… something going on. Fritz had never known Lieutenant Flynn to be quite such a proponent of the rules in all the time he'd known these people.

"Your Captain called me." Fritz held up the file in his hand. "She wanted a copy of this. I had to see Chief Taylor so I thought I'd bring it over." He exchanged a look with the Lieutenant and slanted a quick look at his wife. That he had maneuvered his wife over went without saying but was understood between the two of them. "I can go over it with you now or she can give me a call later."

"No, no," Provenza waved a hand through the air. "Let's get it over with. God forbid we keep her wickedness waiting." He rolled his eyes, but it was now more in teasing than anything.

Brenda found herself laughing quietly at that. At least some things hadn't changed, although she'd heard the team was doing well now, with their new boss. When the two men looked questioningly at her, she shrugged. "Go on, I'll just poke around a bit, maybe say hello to Buzz." She folded her arms over her chest and stood back. They hesitated for a moment, but then got to work, the older Lieutenant taking notes while her husband briefed him.

She stepped back and looked around the room again. Brenda moved through the Murder Room and really took the time to study it. There were changes, here and there, but it was mostly the same. As she stood near the center, she felt herself drawn toward her old office. It was the Captain's office now, she reminded herself. Brenda decided that there would be nothing wrong with taking a quick look. She just wanted to see what, if anything, had changed there. As she thought about it, she realized that she never had reason or opportunity to see the Captain in her own office, back when she was FID. The Captain always came to her. Brenda smirked slightly at that and moved toward it.

She pushed through the door and, once again, the changes were more subtle. The artwork on the wall was tasteful, and if she was honest about it, a little boring. Brenda moved further into the office, closer to the desk and turned slowly. There was an odd, wooden sculpture positioned on the table against one wall. The desk was uncluttered, as was the credenza behind it. Her hand trailed the edge of the desk as she moved around behind it. Everything was arranged carefully, neatly, on the surface. Brenda stood behind the desk for a moment, hand resting on the back of the desk chair. She rolled her eyes. Of course, it would be perfectly arranged. She wondered if the woman dusted herself or left it up to the cleaning crews.

With a quiet snort, Brenda lowered herself into the desk chair and sat there. She bounced slightly in it and wrinkled her nose. It sat higher than it used to, and the back was much straighter. Not as comfortable as she recalled. Her hands rested against the smooth surface of the desk. She reached for one of the closed file folders to her left and flipped up the top. Brenda snorted. Time sheets were completed and signed. She knew from experience that they weren't due until the end of the week, but here they sat, ready to be submitted. Brenda had always spent the evening before quickly finishing them, or signing off on what was completed by Lieutenant Provenza. "Naturally," she muttered to herself.

The blond leaned back in the chair with a quiet huff. Was there anything at all that she didn't do exactly as it was meant to be done? Did she ever just… let anything ride? Brenda rolled her eyes. She figured the inside of the desk drawers were probably color coordinated, alphabetized and carefully arranged. Her gaze drifted to the top, left drawer and she smirked again. She doubted very much that Captain Raydor kept a candy drawer. Curious now, and wondering if she was right, Brenda leaned forward and pulled at it.

The drawer slid out easily. Brenda almost laughed. Yes, the drawer tray sat to one side. Pens, paperclips and post-it notes were arranged neatly. She leaned forward to peer directly into the drawer. Her brows shot into her hairline when she spied the brightly colored package of cherry flavored Twizzlers. Then she recalled that the Captain and Gavin had been found of them. Brenda giggled quietly. So maybe there was hope for her yet. She actually did have a candy drawer, of a sort.

Brenda reached out to pick them up and shook her head. She turned the package over in her hand. It hadn't been opened yet, but that didn't mean anything. When she checked the sell-by date, it was enough to indicate that this was a recent purchase. Brenda held the package to one side and glanced into the drawer again. The gleam of silver and glass drew her attention. Her brows drew together as she reached for what was a beautifully designed silver, pewter frame. The intricately arranged lines were elegant, beautiful. There was a note tucked into the edge of the frame, obscuring the picture. She did feel just a bit like she was prying as she tugged the note out of her way, but the feeling faded quickly upon revealing the image.

She expected perhaps a picture of the Captain's children, or that maybe she had tucked aside a photo of the estranged husband. Or maybe it was ex-husband now, Brenda couldn't remember. They heard a few things over at the DA's office, but she rarely paid attention to the gossip, at least with any regularity. Instead of strangers she found a familiar face smiling, not back at her, but at some point off-camera. Brenda dropped the package of Twizzlers onto the desk, forgotten as she lifted the frame in one hand and the note in her other. She studied the photograph, mouth slightly ajar. Her brows lifted in surprise and she blinked slowly.

Before her, in full and vivid color was Lieutenant Flynn. His head was bowed slightly as he looked to his left, the familiar crooked grin on display. Tucked into his side was an all too familiar brunette. Sharon Raydor had her forehead pressed against the curve of his jaw as she too smiled off to her left. The Lieutenant had an arm around her, while hers lay against his chest. Brenda shook her head, slowly, and let her gaze move to the note in her other hand. It was folded in half, on a sheaf of thick, ivory stationary. She immediately recognized the slanting drawl. It was neater than she recalled, but the familiar slant and rough lines of script were well known. Her brows lifted even further as she skimmed it.

For the drawer, since we know you can't put it on the desk.

Love,
A.

"Oh!" Air left her lungs in a rush. Brenda quickly folded the note again and placed it back in the frame. She couldn't get the picture out of her hands fast enough. She placed it back in the drawer and dropped the Twizzlers atop it. Then she shoved the drawer closed and quickly fled from the desk. "That… woman!"

Brenda ran her hands through her hair and pulled the ends over her shoulder, playing with it. The last thing she ever expected was to find that. When had that happened? How long had it been happening. So much for not breaking the rules! Although, when she thought about it, Brenda wasn't sure exactly how that rule was supposed to work when it wasn't members of the team, but… "Oh!" She shuddered. She really didn't want to think about it. A full body shudder wracked her and she decided that maybe the old saying was right, about curiosity and the cat. Brenda decided to quickly leave the room.

She stepped out of the office and let go of another deep breath. She shook her hair back and smoothed her hands down her dress. Thankfully, her husband was still bent over Lieutenant Provenza's desk while they went over the case file. Brenda shook her head at them. Thick as thieves and oblivious to everything. She almost laughed. What was it Fritzy had always said to her when she was a Deputy Chief. She was going to find an incredible amount of pleasure in teasing him later.

If she could get over the shock of… no, she didn't want to think about it. Brenda shook herself again and started toward them. She stopped, however, as she passed Lieutenant Flynn's desk. Knowing what she did now, she couldn't help but look. Her eyes scanned it carefully, but it looked as it always had. There were post-its scattered here and there, and that odd and slightly frightening snake and frog thing was still positioned beneath his computer monitor. She always threatened to get rid of it, but never had. Her lips pursed. There was not a single indication anywhere on the desk of what she had found in the Captain's drawer, but then she supposed that there wouldn't be. She slanted a look toward her husband and the Lieutenant and then moved slowly, carefully, closer to the desk.

Her hand reached out and she leaned toward it. Her finger caught the lip of the drawer. She curled it inward and gave the drawer a little tug. She leaned back as she pulled it out and tilted her head to peer inside. Her jaw dropped open completely. There wasn't a picture in an elegantly designed frame, but then she hadn't expected to find one. Instead, there was a much smaller photograph in one of the cheap, plastic frames, stuck to the inside lip of the drawer. Unless someone was looking for it, they would completely miss it. It wasn't a complete match the photo in the Captain's drawer, although it was close. They were dressed just as they were in the other, but this time, Andy was looking down while the Captain's eyes were closed as she leaned into him. They still wore their smiles, and in this photo, her hand was cupping his cheek.

Brenda pushed the drawer closed and walked quickly away from the desk. She shuddered again. Turn her back for a minute and everything had gone nuts!

Before she could completely cross the Murder Room, the familiar staccato of heels against tile reached her ears. Brenda leaned against the side of Julio's desk and crossed her legs at the ankles as it got closer, joined by the sound of familiar voices.

"Have Sykes go down to SID," Sharon said as they entered the Murder Room. "I want to have the tools we picked up at Darren Morris's apartment on hand when Doctor Morales sends up the wound casts." She gestured at him with her left hand as they walked, "I want to match the tool impressions before we call DDA Hobbs."

"You're still liking Morris for this?" Andy cast a sideways look at her. His hand brushed her lower back in a move that was purely second nature as he guided her into the Murder Room ahead of him.

"Jason Trevor's blood was on his clothes, and we found traces in the trunk of his car. His prints are on the tools… short of a confession, it's pretty obvious. Which doesn't necessarily mean anything." Sharon shrugged. "Unless something else jumps out at us, that's the lead that I'm prepared to follow right now. We'll wait to question him again once we've matched the wound impressions."

"Ah, Captain, you're back." Howard straightened where he stood. "I have the file you requested." A crooked grin curved his lips, however, when he realized that their gazes were not on him, but on his wife. "Oh, and I brought a visitor."

"Captain Raydor, Andy." Brenda had her arms folded over her chest. She smiled at the two of them. Now, seeing them together, she found it less weird and more amusing. She spotted none of the awkwardness or weirdness that she had witnessed with Gabriel and Daniels. The only thing that she found weird about the situation was that they were getting along long enough to have a coherent, professional conversation, much less carry on doing anything else outside of the department.

Brenda realized then exactly why she found it so odd. In her experience with Flynn and Raydor the pair of them could hardly stand one another. She could recall at least three separate memories where they had crossed paths and locked horns. Brenda almost laughed out loud as, upon seeing her, they seemed to move farther apart. If she hadn't known better, she would think the carefully synchronized move was planned. Now she was even more curious, despite what her curiosity had already gotten her, to know just how long it had been going on.

"Chief." Andy shook his head and chuckled quietly. "Hey." He walked forward to offer a hug. "We weren't expecting you. So rumor has it you finally got bored playing nice over at the DA's office."

She laughed. "I wonder where you heard that from." Brenda hugged him back. Somethings didn't change, she supposed. All he was missing was a toothpick hanging out of his mouth. She cut a look at her husband, who only shrugged. "It was a last minute thing, dropping by. Fritzy was dropping off that file for the Captain, so I met him here instead. How are you doing?"

"Good." He continued over to his desk to shrug out of his jacket. "You know how it is," he nodded toward the murder board. "We're always busy."

"So I see." Brenda tilted her head and glanced at the Captain who seemed to be waiting patiently. "Captain."

"Chief." She clasped her hands in front of her and took a few steps forward, so that she stood nearby, but without closing all of the distance between them. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Captain." Brenda's brows lifted. She looked around the murder room. It had gone silent as the three men watched them, seeming to expect something a little… more in the way of their first meeting since her retirement.

Sharon's lips pursed. Her head tilted. She looked at each man in turn before her gaze returned to the Chief. "I suppose if we started pulling hair and shouting right here they'd feel more at ease." Behind her she heard Andy snort and chuckle quietly. Sharon arched a brow and slowly let her head turn to cast a pointed look in his direction. The laughter stopped quickly, but the corners of his mouth continued to twitch, just as his eyes continued to sparkle with amusement. Sharon's eyes narrowed. He wiped the smirk off his face and she let her attention shift back to Brenda.

"Probably," Brenda replied. "But I'd hate to break those pretty glasses when I started scratching at your eyeballs." Her eyes lit up with amusement at the shared joked, even as the others continued to stare.

"Is this going to be a real thing, and can I take bets?" Provenza smirked at them. "Your file, Captain." He stepped forward and held it out for her. "Chief Howard and I went through most of it, I think you'll find it interesting."

"Thank you," Sharon took it from him and began paging through it. "Chief, why don't you and the Lieutenant join me in my office. You can finish briefing him while I get up to speed." She closed the file and looked at Brenda once more. "It was good to see you. With any luck the others will be back soon."

"That's what I'm hoping." Brenda straightened and moved away from Julio's desk. "It was good to see you too, Captain." She smiled up at her husband as his hand trailed her arm as he moved past, following the Captain and Lieutenant Provenza to her office. Her gaze swept back to Andy and she watched him open his desk drawer and pull out a notepad. If his gaze lingered on the interior, she understood why now. Briefly, she thought back and tried to determine if she'd ever witnessed him doing that before. Brenda couldn't recall. "So it looks like everything is going well around here," she said, "all things considered. I hear the transition wasn't so bad…"

She was fishing. Andy recognized that tone in her voice. He cast a look at her and grinned, where he stood at his desk sorting through his notes on the case. "Yeah, it's going great. There were some issues at first. We had to train her." He smirked playfully.

Brenda snorted quietly at that. She could just imagine. She remembered, vividly, what it was like coming in to this group of people as the new person, and without being very liked. She made a show of looking around the room. "Well, I don't see any artwork, so it can't be that bad."

Andy frowned. When he realized she was talking about a certain drawing of a witch he started laughing. "I think those days are behind us. At least as long as she's signing the time sheets." He turned and hitched his hip against the edge of his desk. "So, DC huh? That's going to be a change. Think you can handle having actual seasons again?"

"I'm actually looking forward to it." Brenda paced around to the front of his desk. "It will be nice to watch the leaves turn in the fall. How is everyone else? Julio is doing okay?" She had almost panicked when Fritz told her that he was shot, again. It was just a flesh wound, but it brought back a lot of memories. For more than just her, she was sure.

"He's good." Andy shrugged. "You know, he's Sanchez. I think his mom is still driving him crazy after everything that happened over the summer. Provenza is…" He cut a look at her and smirked. "We'll come back to that one." They both laughed. "Tao is doing good. Kevin is in college now. That makes me feel old, I can tell you. Buzz is still Buzz. He should be around here somewhere. You should say hello before you leave."

"What about you?" Brenda tilted her head at him. She noticed that he failed to mention how he was doing outside of the work. "I heard your daughter got married. That must have been something."

"It was." He glanced away, when he remembered the wedding, it was more than dancing with Nicole that came to mind. "It was really good. Expensive as hell. I understand your dad now in ways I never thought I would."

Her eyes narrowed and she squinted at him. "That's really great to hear, Andy. I'm glad that everything is going well for everyone. Oh, and I hear Rusty is doing really well too." That was a case that she continued to follow closely, if discreetly. The Stroh trial was still outstanding, and she was keeping an eye on things.

"The kid is alright." Andy turned completely and sat on the edge of his desk. He clasped his hands in his lap and tilted his head at her. "You want to keep playing twenty questions, or just dive right into it? I've only sat in an interview room with you about a thousand times, so this is all very familiar."

Brenda's nose wrinkled. She crossed her arms over her chest again and huffed in feigned exasperation. "Oh for heavens sake!" She rolled her eyes at him. "I think you know exactly what I'm wondering about, Andy. Yes or no, and how long?"

Andy arched a brow at her. He slowly slid further back on his desk. He reached up and rubbed a hand over his hair. His gaze swept the room, quickly, and found they were still alone. Andy shook his head slowly. "Chief, some things… I'm not going to talk about, even with you."

"Lieutenant!" Brenda was tempted to stomp her foot and pout at him. Before she could do anything, the Captain's door opened again. She sighed instead. "All done?" She directed the question at her husband when he appeared, trailing behind the others.

"That's got it." Fritz nodded. "We can get out of here whenever you're ready." His head tilted and he studied her. She had that look, the one she typically got when she didn't get her way about something. He almost rolled his eyes. He was going to get an earful, he knew, the moment they left. "I guess the others didn't make it back yet?"

"No." Brenda shrugged. "But I guess I'll just have to come back." She slanted a look at Andy and smiled. He wasn't off the hook yet. "We should go and see Buzz before we leave."

"We can do that." He cast a look at the others. "Captain, Lieutenants." He lay a hand against Brenda's back.

"We'll get together soon," the former Deputy Chief chirped. "Before I leave, definitely." She sketched out a wave. "Bye now."

After they'd gone, Provenza cut a look at the other two. He watched them exchange a look and rolled his eyes. "What? You going to stand around making googly eyes at each other all day, or are we actually going to get some work done?" He sniffed at them and waved a hand before striding back to his desk.

Sharon arched a brow and cast a look at Andy. Googly eyes, she mouthed.

Andy shrugged and rolled his eyes. Senile, he mouthed back with a grin.

She shook her head at him and turned to re-enter her office. Sharon took a seat behind her desk and opened the case file that Howard brought again. She reached absently for the drawer to her left and tugged it open. She gave a cursory glance as she reached into it, searching for a highlighter. Her hand immediately drew back, however, as she realized that the contents had been disturbed.

Sharon frowned as she leaned over it and gazed inside. She nudged the package of Twizzlers and realized almost immediately that the framed photograph inside was upside down. Sharon drew her hand back again. She blinked at it. Then her shoulders slumped. Of course, Brenda would take a look at the office that used to be hers, specifically the part of it that used to house her beloved sugar stash.

"Oh… crap!"

~FIN